Everyone Drinks Pale Ale
by may kasahara
Summary: As he assists Kurapika in collecting the remaining eyes of the Kuruta Clan, an eighteen year old Killua realizes that he's been yearning for something for the past six years. Read and Review Please! Killua/Kurapika amd hints at Leorio/Kurapika
1. Chapter 1

**Everyone Drinks Pale Ale**

**Rating: **PG 13

**Pairing:** Killua/Kurapika, hints of Leorio/Kurapika

**Warnings:** Hints on sexual situations and some profanity

**Summary:** As he assists Kurapika in collecting the remaining eyes of the Kuruta Clan, an eighteen year old Killua realizes that he's been yearning for something for the past six years.

* * *

I have very vague dreams from when I was eleven going twelve, from twelve going thirteen. I had dreams of the Hunter Exam. Gon would call my name, but his voice would come from very far away.

The sun was scorching hot, so hot, it stung my skin.

From these vague dreams, I could remember one thing very clearly. Kurapika would be in it, in his clearest, most solid form. Blonde hair, pale skin, and eyes that switched from blue to red with the mere mention of Genei Ryodan.

Kurapika, whose heart has been so worn out by his own anger and his own compassion. Kurapika, who didn't understand his own self.

Yeah.

_That Kurapika._

Strange isn't it? I'm not quite sure why his image sticks out the most in these dreams either.

"_Killua." _He would say. _"It's hot today, isn't it?"_

"_I guess so." _I would reply.

"_We should hurry. It's getting dark." _Kurapika tucked some of his hair behind his ear and looked southwards, there was a hint of a smile on his face. And all my twelve year old self could do was gawk at him with some sort of wonder in my eyes.

Note--this conversation never happened. But for some reason, I—sort of wished they did. I sort of wished that these things weren't all in my head and that they truly were real memories from my childhood. Or course, my childhood wasn't exactly what normal people would call a 'childhood'.

Listen, cut me some slack here. I was a kid once you know? No matter how many bodies I dismembered and horribly disfigured at that time, I was still a kid. There were things that were out of my reach, and there were things that I didn't want to have anything to do with me at all. Not that being older changes a lot of those things...it's just that back then, things seemed farther than they are now. Anyone who's been twelve understands this.

I can go on talking like this forever but I don't have any idea what I'm trying to get at here. What exactly am I trying to explain?

It felt as though I were in the bottom of the sea, still dreaming.

* * *

I woke up, gazing at a wooden ceiling. I looked at the window beside my bed. I realized it was still night time and that the lights were still on.

I sat up and scanned the room I had been in. Yeah, this is the small inn room I had been staying in since yesterday. It took some time to register in my head that I was now staring at the back of Kurapika's head. He had been sitting quietly on a small desk, writing away on his little black book made of yellowish parchment paper.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

I could see that jolt of surprise jumping up from his spine to his neck. He froze. In a few seconds, he turned to my direction, carefully putting a cap over his pen with those long fingers of his.

"I was writing on my journal." He said calmly, wearing a soft smile on his face. He spoke to me like this all the time. He spoke to me like I was the same Killua from the Hunter Exam.

"Why?" I don't understand journals or people who keep journals.

Kurapika looked surprised. It was as though I lacked the common sense to understand why people wrote on journals. What the hell-- I'm not the only person in the world who didn't obsess about writing on a piece of paper how my day was. I can't even fathom--

"The truth is that," Kurapika opened his mouth once more. I stopped thinking and started listening. "The Hunter Exam was one of the best things I've ever experienced in this life. Do you remember meeting Gon and Leorio?"

I looked away. "Yeah, I can remember those days."

"So do I. But—I wish I had treasured those times a little more." His eyes were downcast, and although he was smiling, he whole face was awash with disappointment. I suppose all his smiles were like this. His smiles hid what he was truly feeling, these smiles weren't there to deceive me.

They were there to deceive himself.

Kurapika went on. "So now, I've decided to keep a journal. To write down my thoughts on certain things. This way, I hope one day to understand myself better."

"Ah. That makes sense." I feigned interest. It seemed that all these efforts didn't really mean anything to me.

"I apologize. I assume that these things are of no interest to you." Right on the mark. He paused and straightened out his clothes. "Anyway, how's your head?"

"My head?"

"You got pretty drunk with Ikalgo-san today. So you vomited and passed out on the floor. I was pretty surprised. I didn't think octopuses could drink." He had a finger on his chin, as though he were analyzing a mathematical problem.

I frowned. "Oi. Don't skip out on the details. I vomited and passed out on the floor. Chances are that I fell face first on my own vomit and you aren't telling me." At this point, I cringed.

"W-well..."

"Argh! Gross!" I smelled my shirt and my hair, but there wasn't the faintest hint of vomit on them.

"Don't worry, I changed your clothes and washed you so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Argh! You saw me naked!" When I said this, I was teasing him. _Naturally._

"Well, I must say that you have grown a bit." He laughed.

"I'm pretty proud of that fact." I grinned.

Kurapika stood up and ran a hand over his hair. "It's getting late, I should be getting some sleep as well."

For a moment there, something hot grew inside my stomach. "Ah, yeah." Hey, maybe I was thinking of a couple of indecent things at that time.

It's like when you're watching a porn video and the woman goes, _"Oh my it's hot, I think I'll just take this off now." _Go ahead take it off, my right hand's ready.

I couldn't help it.

"Thank you very much Killua." Kurapika said, in a barely audible voice.

"Eh? Why?"

"For helping me look for the eyes of my comrades."

I was a little caught off guard on that. "It's fine. I was bored anyway."

"I hope I wasn't of any disservice to your friend Ikalgo-san."

"Oh believe me, he's just as bored as I am." I shrugged.

"Gon and you were inseparable when you were younger." There was a certain amount of fondness in that statement.

"What can I say? Kids grow up all the time. Although he's my bestfriend and all, it's also good to do something on your own or with other people. That way, your world unfolds itself before you."

Kurapika smiled wider. "Is that so?"

At that time, I didn't even bother asking about Leorio anymore.

* * *

Shit.

I can't sleep.

After that talk with Kurapika, I couldn't sleep. My eyes were wide open and my senses were fully awake.

I can't sleep. Even the faintest of sounds kept me awake.

So I got up as quietly as any raised assassin would, perfectly silent. I walked around the room and glanced over to a sleeping Kurapika.

Yeah, he's asleep. No doubt about it.

I walked over to the desk Kurapika was sitting on and reached over to pick up that black book.

"Don't read it."

I was thrown into a complete halt. "Haha. How did you know?" There was an awkward strain in my voice.

Kurapika who was still lying on the bed, with his back turned, didn't answer for a while.

"Was it your En or something?" He seemed upset, so I tried to lighten up the mood.

"No." Another pause. "Intuition."

"Ah?"

"You're still a kid aren't you?"

Well.

I didn't have anything to say to that.

* * *

**Notes:** I've been a long time fan of HxH and slightly long time fan of Killua/Kurapika, despite the fact that it's so rare and I'm obviously part of the minority. I hope you guys like this first part. Any comments or thoughts would be WONDERFUL. Please read and review, I'm looking forward to everyone's input. ;_;


	2. Chapter 2

**Everyone Drinks Pale Ale**

**Rating: **PG 13

**Pairing:** Killua/Kurapika, hints of Leorio/Kurapika

**Warnings:** Hints on sexual situations and some profanity

**Summary:** As he assists Kurapika in collecting the remaining eyes of the Kuruta Clan, an eighteen year old Killua realizes that he's been yearning for something for the past six years.

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Kurapika and I had breakfast in a small cafe'. The morning was unbearably cold for some. Couples and friends, all wrapped up in thick wool jackets and scarves, chatting the morning away. Today, we were going to a small underground auction. Ikalgo had given us the location last night and gave as much information he could regarding the rumors about the scarlet eyes of the Kuruta tribe being auctioned off. Yeah, Ikalgo's a cool guy like that.

He may be an octopus, but he's really cool.

Kurapika had fried eggs, freshly baked buns and a warm serving of tea.

_What a perfectly balanced meal. _I thought to my myself, trying to push aside thoughts of how exactly I was going to apologize for last night. I'm bad at these things. When I apologize, I usually meant it and it was hard to me to do it. But this time around, I'm a little embarrassed about it. I've never imagined I'd apologize for something so stupid.

Perhaps, the real goal of a human being is not perfection, but balance. I took out a chocolate bar out from one of coat's pockets and began to unwrap it.

If that were the case, then would perfection be the same as balance? I snapped off a piece of chocolate and ate it. As far as I'm concerned, perfection and balance are absolutely subjective. Could it be that a balanced fighter would be the perfect fighter? And if he were, wouldn't this make that person the strongest?

I chuckled.

Of course not.

"Chocolate in the morning? You're such a strange boy." Kurapika offhandedly commented as he used his bread knife to slice his buns into two equal parts. He performed it as though it were a sacred ritual. Uptight as ever.

"'Boy' Huh? That kind of has a bad ring to it now." I continued eating. I looked towards the window that was couple of seats away. "I'm hardly a kid. In fact, I've hardly been one to begin with."

"If you don't want to be called a kid then you should stop acting like one." He replied calmly.

"Shit. You're really good at arguing."

"Call it natural talent. I may not be as stubborn as Gon but I'm very good at defending my own beliefs." He smiled again.

I scratched the back of my neck. Geez, being with him was getting more uncomfortable by the second.

"Forget it. Let's just think about how we're going to get back the eyes of your friends."

"Killua," Kurapika wiped his mouth with a napkin. "to be quite honest, I intend to buy it. The eyes of my comrades, as much as possible...I wish to retrieve them by more peaceful means. But if the situation calls for it, then less honorable methods are inevitable."

Here he goes again, going on about how to compromise two conflicting solutions to solve a problem.

"Hey, rather than thinking about it. I think that you should just do the best you can. There are some things that don't you don't need to agonize yourself about. This is one of those things." I picked up my hot chocolate and drank it.

"Chocolate again?"

"Didn't I say there are things that you don't need to agonize yourself about?"

"Y-yes." His eyes widened.

"Just so you know, this is one of those things." I grinned.

My relationship with him is pretty odd. I never had the time to think it over, but sitting here had made me realize that. I can't be like Leorio to him, and he can't be like Gon towards me. Yeah, it's definitely strange and I don't know why.

"Once you have the eyes of your comrades back, what then?" I found myself asking this.

Dead silence.

"I don't know. All my life, that's all I've been set out to do."

"I see..."

We sat there quietly until we finished our respective meals. I glanced at the older man in front of me. How could someone so strong, be so fragile? Just by looking at him, I felt this amazingly overwhelming feeling of unease.

* * *

The auction was at around eight in the evening. Half past six, we were already prepared to drive to the location pinpointed. I was vain enough to wear a suit. Kurapika wore his usual clothes.

"Ahh, you're no fun." I sighed. "I even had us go on a nice car."

I knew how to drive since I was seven, but this was my first time driving out on the road. Irony, go figure. Kurapika sat by the passenger's seat. He wasn't any fun to talk to either. He kept rubbing his hands together as though he were cold.

"Are you okay?" I asked him out of concern.

"Yes. I'm fine. Just a little anxious, that's all."

If you think about it. My life is in a very peaceful place right now. It's shockingly peaceful, it's been a while since I fought anyone. Admittedly, it can be a little boring. And yet, it's so quiet, I can't help but be thankful for that.

"Kurapika." I mumbled out his name clumsily.

"What?"

"It's nothing."

I didn't have anything to say.

* * *

At exactly eight o' clock, Kurapika and I arrived at the underground auction. We looked around and I couldn't stifle my laughter.

"We've got tons of bad seeds around here, don't we? Man, look at this place it's like a congregation of ugly, bald guys with small dicks."

Kurapika pressed a finger against his lips. "Quiet. It's not good to take anything by face value."

"But you can tell it too right?" I inched in closer towards him.

Six years later and I'm taller than Kurapika. Maybe five or six inches tall, I believe. I was hovering over him, admiring that peculiar but intense blue color of his eyes, it stands out even in the darkness of evening.

"I don't think anyone here is a threat." I wore a wide smirk.

Man, I don't even know where I got this confidence from. It must've been the suit. It's the suit all right.

"What's with you all of a sudden?" He placed a hand over my chest to push me away. "Don't be too full of yourself."

* * *

We sat through the entire action which lasted for three hours. By the end of it we had hoped that the eyes were going to be auctioned off last. Instead, it happened to be a fancy, frilly pink dress that a very popular girl idol wore on her debut concert.

I looked around again. Taking into consideration that Milluki was an otaku loser born into an assassin family, I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out here. Fortunately, he wasn't.

I made a big sigh of relief. "Kurapika, sorry about this. Ikalgo must've gotten it all wrong."

"No." He shook his head. "I refuse to believe that Ikalgo-san would make such an incompetent mistake."

"W-What?" I blinked. "Do you have a plan or something?"

"Certainly."

* * *

**Notes: **Hello! Thank you for everyone's reviews, I was pleasantly surprised! I hope that this chapter isn't a disappointment to you guys. I have to be honest and say that capturing their personalities for me was a bit of a challenge and I don't know if I got Killua or Kurapika right. But hope you guys enjoy it! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**Everyone Drinks Pale Ale**

**Rating: **PG 13

**Pairing:** Killua/Kurapika, hints of Leorio/Kurapika

**Warnings:** Hints on sexual situations and some profanity

**Summary:** As he assists Kurapika in collecting the remaining eyes of the Kuruta Clan, an eighteen year old Killua realizes that he's been yearning for something for the past six years.

Chapter 3

* * *

I loosened my tie, pulled a chair in with my free hand and sat quietly as the organizer of said auction began his story. The organizer was a wealthy mafia leader whose head was shaped like a prune. He had a moustache that looked as though he had someone draw them in. His moustache was so impeccable, I found it hard to believe that it _wasn't_ fake.

Usually guys this high up the ladder would be hard to talk to. A man of his stature hired Hunters or well experienced Nen users, just like Kurapika's previous boss. What was his name again? It's been so long, I can hardly remember. Nostrade was it?

Kurapika introduced himself to the ones handling security simply by his own name. He was popular and well respected within the mafia community. Kurapika was able to defeat a Genei Ryodan member singlehandedly-- this news echoed in hushed whispers throughout the mafia world. It's facts like this are easily overstated in a world so wary and untrusting of everything. That said, this gave Kurapika the leverage he needed.

After stating his own name, he stated his purpose which was to talk to whoever was organizing this auction. He said that it was regarding the scarlet eyes of the Kuruta tribe. One of the heads of security, a big muscled man with a strange beard, immediately recognized Kurapika, apparently he used to work for the Nostrade family as well. Kurapika called him 'Basho'.

It was unprecedented that Kurapika would have such a connection. I wondered if it was just luck or something else. Not that I don't trust Kurapika, it is just that being suspicious is my nature.

While I dwelt in my own thoughts, Kurapika gave me a disapproving glare. I tried not to smirk. It was kind of cute to see him so annoyed.

Anyway, the old man went on talking. He wiped the sweat off his bow and clasped his hands together, an anxious look pasted on his face. "The eyes were kept in a completely separate vault from all the other auction items. Those eyes were 30 times more valuable than the rest of the items in the auction, I acquired it from one of my travels. They were truly exquisite thus I wished to safeguard them with all I had." He bowed his head regretfully. "They are no longer in my possession now. Three days before the auction, they were stolen from me. I had the police cooperate with me and even had Nen users assist the search, but all was in vain."

He spoke with so much pride in his noble intonation, it got on my nerves a bit. I placed a hand over my mouth and thought it over. _What if it was the Genei Ryodan behind this? If they were, why would they? Was it to provoke Kurapika? Am I reading too much into it? But what if--_

"I understand. Thank you very much." Kurapika lowered his head. The slight glimmer of his earring under the fluorescent lights startled me. "If I'm able to find any information about this then I shall gladly tell you."

"If that is so then please allow me to reward you."

"There is no need." Kurapika replied, his eyes were full of determination.

Yeah, he's definitely going to find them. He's definitely planning on going alone. No matter how calm or composed he appears on the outside, there's definitely a strong storm brewing inside him. I can practically see it.

What Gon would do in a situation like this? I didn't have an idea. He and I are different, it's always been that way. I suppose this means I'd have to deal with it in my own way, as most adults do.

As Kurapika walked away, I stood up and followed him. My footsteps were soundless, I wondered if the weight of my own existence was just as light as the footsteps I made.

* * *

Dammit. How long has it been since we started walking? The car was only a couple of minutes away and yet it felt like I had been walking for an insane amount of time. It felt as though time had been stretched out right in front of me.

My throat was dry. I wanted to say something but nothing would come into mind.

That small back in front of me was Kurapika's. The blonde hair that swayed with every movement of his body kept me looking. I was taken over by the strange feeling of deja vu. Was there ever a time Kurapika walked in front of me? I can't remember but I was shaken by this feeling. I wanted to do something, anything.

"Oi. Say something." I blurted out of the blue. "Anything is fine. Just don't pretend that this doesn't mean anything to you."

"What do you want me to say?" Kurapika spoke without looking back. He pushed on forward.

"It doesn't matter. Just go ahead and say what you want to say."

"Don't be stupid." He ignored me.

I furrowed my brows. Dammit. Stop being so fucking stubborn! I grabbed him by the wrist and stopped him in his tracks. "You're angry right? I can tell. Right now, that's only thing I understand about you. I can't work with you like this." Everything I said was absolute truth.

It was dead silent for a while.

"I'm angry. Just thinking about it makes me angry. It's not just the thought that it might be the Genei Ryodan behind this. It's more than that." His voice began to waver. He clenched his fists tightly, and his whole body shook. This was his anger, pure unadulterated anger. Being in the presence of his wrath, even I was taken aback.

"To think that the eyes of my comrades are to be auctioned like this, in the hands of people like him-- to be paraded around like _things." _His lips quivered, the small back shook. And once more, I realized how fragile he was. How Kurapika stood at the edge, ready to be broken at any moment. The irony in this presented me something so beautiful, it made me feel guilty. "Those eyes belonged to people I once knew."

He took a deep breath. He tried to loosed the grip in hand on him by pulling his arm away, but I wouldn't let him go. No. Not now.

"They were once alive." He said. "They were my people."

He began to cry. I've never seen him cry. This was so unexpected, I unconsciously let go. He didn't even show me his face as he wiped away his tears. I understood. Kurapika and his pride went hand in hand.

At that time, I wanted to hold him. My body couldn't do what my mind wanted to. It was frustrating.

"I'm sorry." I meant it this time as well.

Kurapika didn't utter a single word.

It was weird and stupid, having all these complicated feelings all bunched up and tangled with one another was weird and stupid.

I'm eighteen and I'm and idiot. There's not a lot I can do for him.

* * *

**Notes: **For the people who commented on last chapter SadisticKitsune and orangeeee**, **thank you very much! It's always a please to find people who ship Killua/Kurapika. I hope that this chapter was somewhat enjoyable. It's not incredibly romantic but I love fleshing out Kurapika and Killua a bit more. XD Please leave a review if you enjoyed it, I'd love to see what other people think. :D


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